Donatello's Clan
by TheLadyOfSouls
Summary: Donnie has always dreamed of creating his own family with four sons and four daughters, raising them with the support of a like-minded companion. He gets his chance when he meets a broken divorcee, called Gale, who's spent her best years raising children for her extended family, and has now been cast aside by her relatives while visiting in New York. Rating may change later?
1. Microwave Family

**Summary:**

Donnie has always dreamed of creating his own family with four sons and four daughters, raising them with the support of a like-minded companion.

He gets his chance when he meets a broken divorcee, called Gale, who's spent her best years raising children for her extended family, and has now been cast aside by her relatives.

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own the Turtles or any characters you recognise. Eastman, Laird, and Nickelodeon etc own them. I'm doing this for fun and not making any money off it. Please don't sue me :). My OC's belong to me; don't take them without asking please.

Any similarity between my characters and real people in purely coincidental and unintentional. I may have been inspired at some point by real people, but this is fiction, so I've exaggerated their characteristics to suit my story!

 **Warnings:** This story contains violence, strong language, abuse, and may contain sensitive subjects (including possibly sexual situations). If easily offended by these, please don't read. People with PTSD should read this with caution as some situations might be triggering.

 **A/N:** These are mostly 2K14 Turtles with other bits thrown in as the mood takes me. In 2019 the Turtles are 22 (Leo), 21 (Raph & Donnie), & 20 (Mikey) respectively. This story has quite a few flashbacks ( _in italics_ ) so please bear with me. I'm assuming that Mikey was 15 in 2014. In my head-cannon, the middle brother's are twins; this is because different versions put these two in different order.

Any unfamiliar terms will be at the bottom of each page along with any translations.

* * *

000

 _*Flashback (April 1_ _st_ _2008)*_

" _Donnie, you need to fix the Toaster!" A nine-year-old Mikey whined, as he swung the badly battered contraption carelessly in one hand._

" _What happened to it this time?" A ten-year-old Donatello patiently asked, carefully pushing his battered glasses higher on his face._

" _Leo tried to get his poptart out, but the poptart got stuck, and so Leo used his katana to get it out, but the toaster gave him an owie, so now Leo is getting made better by Sensei, but the toaster is all broken," Mikey prattled, as he tossed the broken toaster haphazardly at Donatello._

" _Did Raph try to 'help' Leo get the poptart out too?" Donatello quietly muttered to himself sarcastically, as he inspected the telltale signs of angry Sai marks, piercing the already dented steel of the toaster's sides._

" _We need it back for breakfast tomorrow. Bye!" Mikey happily bounded out of the 'lab corner' of the lair, having done his duty._

 _Donatello spent the rest of the day carefully disassembling the toaster, straightening and carefully re-welding the damaged metal exterior, before stripping the electronic components, and assessing the parts he needed to get from the junkyard. He carefully wrote a list of the necessary items, before took the list to Sensei to get permission to accompany him to retrieve the parts._

 _Master Splinter gave his son a piercing look, before agreeing to allow his son to accompany him to the junkyard._

 _000  
_

 _The trip to the junkyard was uneventful, with Donnie remembering to take some pizza crusts for the junkyard dogs. He'd learn after his first junkyard trip, always to have a little food with him for the junkyard dogs, that's if he wanted to remain unmolested by them._

 _Once the dogs were bribed, Donnie quickly gathered the necessary components, before he heard a weak cry coming from inside a broken microwave oven. He signalled to Master Splinter, who inspected the oven, only to be deeply shocked by the discovery of a newborn infant, complete with afterbirth, inside._

" _Give me your cloak my son, I need to wrap the little one in it," Master Splinter commanded Donatello, as he ordered his son to carefully open the appliance so he could retrieve the baby._

" _Why did they put a baby in the microwave?" A bewildered Donatello asked, carefully watching how his father collected the infant._

" _I do not know, my son. But we must take the infant with haste to the hospital if he is to survive," Master Splinter replied._

 _The pair quickly slipped through the shadows to the nearest hospital. Donatello wrote a little note for the hospital staff at his father's request and they left the baby wrapped in Donatello's ragged grey cloak._

 _The note read,_

" _ **To the hospital staff. I found little baby "Bruce" in a broken microwave oven. Please look after him, and find him some nice parents, with kind brothers and sisters to live with."**_

 _Master Splinter could not yet read English, having learnt the language of Japanese from the laboratory staff at Sacks Labs. So, he was forced to rely on Donatello to write any English language correspondence to the human world. This gave Donatello some liberty as to what he could write on the note._

 _Donatello was pretty fluent and literate in Japanese, English, Spanish, Mandarin, and French. He also had a passing familiarity with Arabic, Farsi, and he was currently trying to master German._

 _Once they had made sure that the hospital staff had collected "Bruce", they made their way back to the lair, via a few restaurant dumpsters to collect dinner._

000

 _Once Donatello got home, he had to endure the usual rough housing and constant mockery that came with being the 'geek' of the family. Several other things had been broken through the day, which he found dumped in 'Donatello's Lab' corner without explanation._

 _Fed up with the un-ending workload, and complete lack of appreciation from his brothers Donatello, decided there and then that he would be moving out as soon as he had a suitable alternative place to live. While he worked for the rest of the evening on repairing the broken items, he plotted how he could become fully independent of his family for survival._

000

 **April 1st 2019**

Donatello carefully wiped his damp glasses after he had turned off his laptop for the evening. He'd been watching a YouTube video of Bruce Addington's 11th Birthday Party.

Donnie had long ago hacked the hospital records, to track down the little baby he'd found in the microwave. He considered himself the _**'Hogoshā'**_ of every baby that he had saved from infanticide.

He never told his brother's or his father about this, choosing to use his extensive skills with the World Wide Web to earn enough money to buy these orphaned children little gifts on their **'Finding-day'** and Christmas.

Social media made it easier for him to keep track of the older children, though he still did patrol's around the city to check up on the others.

More than once, he'd needed to rescue one of 'his children' from badly chosen foster parents, who were treating them unkindly. Most of the time though, they had been 'adopted out', to good people, and he had quite a number of virtual photo albums of their lives.

He'd also been working on his plans to move out of home, that he'd begun on the day he'd found Bruce.

Realising that eventually his brothers would also need lairs of their own eventually, he located an area of the sewers that could eventually be turned into a mutant 'village' of sorts, allowing each of the brothers to live independently, while being close enough to continue training together as a clan.

He'd carefully arranged the city records to prevent them ever being worked on by the city sanitation workers, and over the years he had worked to create five rough spaces that would eventually become their adult homes.

He'd finished at sixteen, the huge security network and utility network needed to support his vision. At seventeen, he'd completed the necessary excavation and creation of secret entries into each lair. Despite his increased workload at eighteen, which had set back his plans, he'd managed to complete the structure and decoration of his clan's future homes by the age of nineteen.

Last year he had focused his efforts on furnishing each lair with the basics. He could now move out at any convenient time, he was just waiting for the appropriate timing.

His family still didn't know about his plans, which was just the way he liked it. He'd discovered long ago, that what his family didn't know they couldn't disrupt by their unpredictable choices and disruptive decisions.

A quick glance at the monitor of the lair told him that the others were preparing to go on patrol. Donnie quickly suited up; after making sure his _'foundling rescue kit'_ was discretely hidden amongst his equipment.

000

Donnie left his lab, just as Leo was coming to get him. "Any interesting activity topside?" Leo asked, sheathing his katana.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Just the usual gang activity and petty crime." Donnie checked the charge on his shell cell, before following his brother's out of the lair.

000

* * *

 **A/N:** I chose "Bruce" after Bruce Banner (The Incredible Hulk) as the baby was found in a microwave oven, which emits radiation. Not quite the same, but I think a child Donatello would have made the connection.

Yes, Donnie is stalking these kids, but unless they are in trouble, he lets them live their lives ignorant of his existence. While this might seem slightly creepy from some points of view, but he sees himself as their godparent of sorts. After 11 years, he probably has about fifty kids to watch over.

Donnie typically gives them something small worth less than $5 a year. With the babies and toddlers, he usually bribes/blackmails Raphael into knitting little hats or mittens for Christmas. A couple of decorated pencils or a small much needed exercise book might be gifts for older children as he can buy these in bulk when they are cheap, and hide them in his lab until they are needed.


	2. Gale

**Additional Disclaimer:** The Hunter Children (Gale, Hemi, Maui, and Mahuika) are fictitious characters that belong to me. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is accidental (kinda - see below). I've loosely based some of their history on my own experiences (and those of people I knew) growing up in a Maori family in 1980's New Zealand.

I recommend the movie _ **"Once Were Warriors",**_ starring Temuera Morrison to anyone wanting to know what the life of Auckland's poor was like. Personally, I've never been able to watch more than half of it, as it's far too realistic for me.

For other disclaimer's, warnings etc, please see chapter one.

000

* * *

 _ ***Flashback (April 1st 1986)***_

" _Come on Mahu, we're going to be late for school." Gale griped at her younger sister, as she led the petulant five-year-old by the hand, mostly dragging her reluctant baby sister to the dreary primary school down the street._

 _Mahuika was wearing a neatly patched dress patterned with sunflowers, along with nicely pressed white broidere anglaise lace ruffles. Her straight brown hair was neatly brushed and braided, and her leather shoes shone, despite being a size too big, and obviously hand-me-downs from the local church._

 _In sharp contrast, Gale's freshly washed curly auburn brown hair was roughly cropped short, her worn jeans and blouse had obviously been discarded in the annual inorganic's collection as being too worn out for use before she had rescued them, to add to her wardrobe. There were obvious patches in the knees and seams, and the blouse appeared to consist of more darns than actual fabric._

 _The two boys, Hemi and Maui, were trying not to look like they weren't with their sisters. They had faired better than Gale, at seven and six years respectively, they were wearing the standard uniform of little Maori boys everywhere in New Zealand. Rugby shorts and a faded T-shirt that might have had something printed on it once. Neither boy had shoes, but then most boys didn't wear shoes at their low-decile school unless it was really cold._

" _I don't want to go!" Mahuika wailed angrily at her long-suffering nine-year-old sister._

" _You're going Mahu! I didn't spend all of the last school holiday's teaching you how to read and count just so you could wag school." An increasingly grumpy Gale grumbled at Mahuika, who had begun to throw a spectacular tantrum._

" _I don't want to! I don't want to! I DON'T WANT TO!" Mahuika screamed at her sister and the world at large. Mahuika convulsed on the ground dramatically, making passing cars slow down to rubberneck at the two children locked in a battle of wills._

 _Gale glared at the hastily retreating backs of her brother's as they fled the embarrassing scene. Impatient at her sister's theatrics, she slung her sister's schoolbag over her own shoulder, then picked the screaming child up in a firemen's hold. Mahuika kicked Gale's painfully thin ribs violently, screaming all the way to the 'new entrants' classroom._

 _Gale finally put her sister down in the cloakroom, wiping away the snot and drool on her sister's face, along with the tears. She brushed out Mahuika's hair, and, quickly and expertly re-braided it, before checking to make sure her sister had lunch._

 _Mahuika had not bothered to pack the lunch Gale had made her the night before, so Gale put her own lunch in Mahuika's bag, and after a final check to make sure she was straight and tidy again, she carefully manoeuvred the teary child into the classroom for her first day of school._

 _Mahuika had clung to her frantically for over an hour, before she finally settled down enough that Gale could go to her own classroom. Miss Summers had been kind enough to write a note explaining why she was late to her own teacher Ms Holly. Gale still got a lunchtime detention, because Ms Holly said her mother could have taken Mahuika to school. Gale remained tightly silent, mentally imagining their drunken schizophrenic mother coming to the school at all._

 _The social worker had enrolled them, not their mother. The only reason they even had tidy clothes was because Gale's grandmother had helped Gale patch and mend the rags they had found in the last year's inorganic's collection. Gales own clothes were left until last as she was the eldest, and so they often weren't mended to the same standard as the younger children's things._

 _This also applied to any food they had. Mahuika got the largest portion as she had been premature as a baby, followed by the boys and finally, if there was anything left, Gale. It wasn't unusual for Gale to miss three days worth of meals in a typical week._

 _She often had to leave Mahuika and Maui with Hemi, just so she could scavenge for what they needed, if their mother wasn't lucid or had already drank the fortnight's social welfare benefit._

 _Most of their street thought the Hunter children were the bane of their fruit trees and veggie patches already, and Maui and Hemi weren't afraid to dive through the local takeaway's skip either on a Friday night._

000

* * *

 **April 1st 2019**

"Alright, let's do a circuit of our home blocks first as a warm-up. The turtle with the cleanest two blocks can choose the patrol zone tonight!" Leo stretched and loosened his muscles, preparing to check his 'home blocks'. "We'll meet back here in half an hour."

Leo had assigned each brother two blocks closest to the current lair to keep clean of criminals. As a testimony of the group's success, the property values in the area had shot up in the last few years, boosted by the area's low crime rate.

"Sure!"

"Whadeva!"

"See you soon brah!"

Mikey managed a purse-snatcher, and a rescue of a woman harassed by her ex-boyfriend. Leo's own home blocks had only netted an unconscious drunken businessman getting a 'pat down' by a homeless person. Donnie's blocks had a cat-burglar, which actually made him late back to their meeting spot, as he'd chased her four blocks before he had caught her and left her tied up for the cops to find.

000

Once everyone else had arrived and debriefed, Raph looked smug, as he shifted his quintessential toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other, "What took ya so long? Mah streets were dead quiet tonite."

"Well since you seem to have won the warm-up Raphael, where are we going tonight?" Leo looked at his smug younger brother with a world-weary expression.

"Brooklyn of course!" Raph swivelled and cheerfully leapt onwards towards the bridge.

"I'm going to get the van," muttered an exhausted Donatello.

Mikey started to belt out an off-key version of Neil Diamond's "Brooklyn Streets" as he leapt after Raphael. Leo followed Mikey, head slapping him to shut him up as he went past.

000

Donnie went back to the lair and got the van, and then followed the tracker on Raph's T-phone to find the others in Brooklyn.

They checked in, then they split up to do solo patrols. Donny managed to do a quick check on some of _'his children'_ in the area, before he came across a domestic dispute outside a nice holiday apartment complex that was getting really vociferous.

An athletic, muscular dark coffee-skinned woman was screeching at another, rather flustered, tanned woman in a mixture of English, and some language Donnie was unfamiliar with.

"Mahuika, Your son Henare was destroying the toy store. I pulled him out of there. I told him not to _tutū_ with anything, and he didn't _whakarongo_!" The lighter skinned woman complained, as she wrapped her stylish black poncho tighter around her ponderous, well-endowed form.

Donnie studied her for a moment, taking in the cheap copies of outdated middle-class corporate clothing, covered by a warm, and once expensive, woollen designer poncho-cape, which had obviously seen many years dutiful wear to its owner. The woman herself was middle aged, judging by the fine threads of grey hair decorating an otherwise badly cut mass of reddish brunette curls.

The woman was dragging her hands through her hair in frustration as the smartly dressed boy, he assumed was 'Henare', was looking at her smugly from behind his mother.

"Mahu, you expect me to care for your four children while you are racing. I expect to be able to enforce my decisions regarding the safety of the children, their surroundings, and other people! Mahuika, I love you little sister, but you need a reality check. You are actually encouraging your son to be out of control!" The older woman made another impassioned appeal, trying to make her sister see reason.

"Gale, he's my _tamariki_! When you have your own children, you will understand. Until then, don't tell me how to raise my children!" Mahuika shrieked angrily at her sister.

Mahuika wore a team uniform, from one of the international sports teams that were currently competing in the city. Her uniform was brand new, and very expensive looking, along with her very expensive designer brand-name sports shoes.

Mahuika's long, waist length, brown-black hair, had only the barest curl at the ends. It was swept back in a sleek ponytail, secured with a simple hair-tie. She looked several years younger than Gale, probably in her mid-to-late-twenties, though she must have been quite young when she had her child as he looked about Bruce's age.

"Mahuika, you didn't turn out that badly and I raised you! I know how to care for children. I've been doing it since I was one myself! With the exception of our brother Maui, who has always been a law-unto-himself, the vast majority of children I've raised have grown to be polite and well mannered adults, who actually respect other people, and have gone on to achieve things in their lives. You usually being case in point!" Gale tiredly scolded her obviously much younger sister.

"You didn't raise me! I raised myself! You were never there!" The highly-strung Mahuika began screaming again, as she roughly dragged the remaining silent children from their careworn aunt's custody. "You can find your own way back to New Zealand! Don't bother coming back to my family. You are no longer any _Whanau_ of mine!"

The remaining three children looked embarrassed by their mother, silently apologising for their mother's latest outburst. The children were herded away inside, and shortly later, a worn shabby suitcase was thrown out, spilling the robust elder sister's stained, tattered, and darned undergarments on the sidewalk for all to see.

Donnie found it touching that even in the face of complete familial rejection, Gale still found it in her heart to tell her furious sister, "I forgive you Mahu, and I love you and the children, even Henare."

Gale quickly gathered her now snow-sodden and street-soiled clothing from the sidewalk and shut her suitcase. Straightening her clothing as best she could, she inspected the nearest alley for a suitable cardboard box, before attempting to settle in for the night.

Donnie decided to continue his patrol, and left, musing to himself how quickly Gale adapted from a four-star apartment hotel to homelessness. It was apparent to him that these women had been raised in hard circumstances at some point. While Gale clearly understood the temporary nature of wealth, and settled quickly to her new circumstances, her younger sister seemed bent on distancing herself from their humble origins any way she could.

The rest of Donnie's solo patrol was filled with six muggings and two burglaries. All were swiftly dealt with, and when Leo called to say he could go home, Donnie decided to check on Gale again on his way home.

000

He arrived back at Gale's alley only to find her surrounded by NewTurks gang members. There were nine gang members, two rifling through her grimy suitcase and her patchwork vinyl handbag, the remainder threatening her bodily. As Donnie prepared to go to her assistance, she surprised him by taking on the gang members herself.

Gale's 'style' looked like a hodgepodge of common brawling and ninjutsu, with elements of other martial arts and fighting styles thrown in for good measure. Donnie smiled to himself as her style of fighting reminded him of Raph or Casey (without the hockey pucks)

She had managed to surprise the leader, and had disarmed him of the long steel pipe he had been holding. Using a mixture of european quarterstaff fighting techniques and Bōjutsu, she made short work of five of the gang members, including the leader, but Donatello was then forced to come to her aid, as the remaining four NewTurks were perhaps a little smarter than their contemporaries, and they had had time to arm themselves better.

Working back-to-back, Gale and Donatello were able to take down the remaining gang members before Gale collapsed, just as the last gang member fell unconscious.

Curious about Gale, Donnie quickly tied up the gang members for the NYPD, before collecting Gale's belongings, and gingerly lifting the hefty 280 lb unconscious Gale, and making his way back to the van.

000

* * *

 **A/N:** A _"Skip"_ is New Zealand slang for a "Dumpster."

I know that Donnie could probably run for much longer without needing the van, but that cat burglar had run him ragged. Coupled with the fact that he knew the patrol was just beginning, he decided that it was better to be safe than sorry. It certainly helped with getting Gale back to the Lair!

I love reviews, please tell me what you think, if you offer constructive criticism, please be gentle, I've put far more of myself into this story than any of my previous work.

While the characters and their experiences are definitely fictional, some of the experiences that Gale had are based on my own childhood/life.

000

Any translations are done using Google translate app. I apologise in advance if the translations are a bit weak or wrong.

 _ **"**_ _ **Hogoshā"**_ is a Japanese Guardian Spirit according to TMNT 2K14 Movie.

 _ **Maori Translations**_

 _ **"Tutū"**_ means fiddle or fidget with.

 _ **"Whanau"**_ means extended family, including close family friends and other hangers-on.

 _ **"Tamariki"**_ means child or children.

 _ **"Whakarongo"**_ means listen.


	3. Did I have fun last night?

**Disclaimers:** For story disclaimer's, warnings etc, please see chapter one.

000

* * *

 **Still** **April 1st 2019**

By the time he got Gale back to his home in the sewers, everyone else was fast asleep. He took Gale directly into his lab, and began systematically checking her injuries.

It seemed like she had continued to fight, even when bursitis affected her knees, ankles, and to a lesser degree her other joints. There were a number of badly strained tendons as well. The gangbangers had cracked several of her ribs, both her legs, and her right arm. Nothing was completely broken, but she was going to wake up to a world of pain in the morning.

Once Donnie had her cleaned up and her wounds bandaged, then set her legs and arm in plaster, before he moved her to his nest, rather than the med cot in his lab. He rarely slept in his nest, so it had become the lair's de-facto guest bed, and ward for longer term patients.

Though Donnie knew he should probably get some sleep himself, he still had to tend his own wounds, though he had been luckier than Gale with only a few bruises and mildly strained wrist. He bound up his wrist, rubbed arnica on the bruises, and then settled down in front of his workstation.

000

Donatello wanted to do an inventory of Gale's clothing before she woke and could complain about his presumption.

His inventory listed:

 _6 ragged skin tone bra's (size 24E)_

 _6 ragged skin tone ladies pantiegirdle underwear (size 28)_

 _6 pairs socks (Large sized)_

 _1 dark green polyester business suit (size 32, Skirt, Jacket, Pants)_

 _2 off-white polyester blouse (Size 30)_

 _2 pairs cheap classic wash bootleg jeans (size 32)_

 _2 homemade Print Maxi-dresses (Size unknown, but similar size to other garments)_

 _2 T-shirts (Size 32)_

 _1 designer poncho cape (No Size, now destroyed)_

 _2 homemade nightdresses (Size unknown, but similar size to other garments)_

 _1 crimson red bikini (Size 28)_

 _1 pair black and crimson boardshorts (size 30)_

 _1 pair black leather knee-high riding boots (Size 10.5E)_

 _1 pair hiking boots (Size 11DW)_

 _1 pair hiking sandals (Size 10.5)_

 _1 pair ladies court shoes (Size 41)_

 _Toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, razor, soap, bodywash, toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, comb, hairbrush, hairpins, hair ties, costume jewellery - earrings & necklaces, wristwatch, medic alert bracelet, Ventolin inhaler)  
_

000

The gears in Donnie's mind whirred happily, as he thought about the newly finished lair he had been secretly building and possibilities of this obviously caring woman to his plans.

He had taken the liberty of completely scanning Gale's body to get a better idea of her size than the mis-mash of sizes she had previously purchased. Donnie also checked the sizes on the clothes that still had them, and scanned the other garments with his sensors to get an idea of her preferred clothing size, before he decided to order her a completely new wardrobe for her from an apparel website he had been previously hired to do some web developing.

He also ordered her a smart new suitcase and handbag, and some fresh toiletries. He dumped the originals, keeping only the contents of the handbag, and some costume jewellery that was in the side pocket of the suitcase.

He spent the rest of the night trying to discover more about Gale. Her handbag had provided her identification, including her passport, and after the fight, he had happily relieved the gangbangers of their cash, as was his habit in these situations. It would help cover her costs as a result of their attack.

000

Her full name was 'Gale Grace Hunter'. She was forty-two and divorced, with a protection order against her ex-husband and his family.

According to Donnie's hack of social media, and various New Zealand government databases, Gale had recently sold her small rural freehold home, along with all her worldly possessions to enable her big city half-sister Mahuika, along with her half-sisters husband and four children to travel to New York. Mahuika was competing in the 'International Outrigger Cup Race' representing New Zealand with her mixed team of six.

Mahuika and her husband both had well paying jobs. Their four children attended good private schools, and enjoyed all the trappings of upper middle-class life, including regular international holidays, and numerous hobby clubs.

It had disgusted Donnie that Mahuika had so callously discarded her elder half-sister in a foreign country, especially after Gale had basically given up everything she owned for her little sister's dream.

Apparently, according to Donnie's research, Gale had raised not only her younger siblings, but had been an unpaid nanny to a number of members of her extended family for most of her youth, before being delegated to care for their senile elders for a number of years. These elders were now deceased, and there was no longer anyone in the extended family that needed the now 'unnecessary' Gale.

Gale's health had suffered badly over the years as a result of her unpaid service, and while a long overdue 'government compensation cheque' had resulted in the ability to purchase a small property. Gale had willingly sacrificed this financial security, when Mahuika wanted to compete in a competition that would enable her to a chance to earn a place in the New Zealand Olympic team.

Gale was now homeless, sickly, and unable to make much of a living outside the home. The family she had sacrificed her prime years for, had disowned her. The injustice of it made Donnie more than furious.

000

 **April 2nd 2019**

He got up from his computer to make himself a coffee, and grabbed the last couple of strawberry pop tarts. He could hear Gale waking as he returned to his lab, so he dropped his breakfast on a workbench, and went to check on her.

"How are you feeling?" Donnie enquired cautiously, peeping sheepishly around his bedroom door.

"Is there any part of me that's not busted?" Gale griped, as she gingerly tried to raise herself into a mostly upright position.

"Well your left arm is not broken..." Donnie replied, still looking sheepish, as Gale finally noticed that she was wearing one of Donnie's own oversized purple hoodies, with nothing but bandages underneath.

"Someone clearly had fun last night, did I enjoy it?" Gale gave Donnie a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry, I had to clean you up, and you were out cold. Your clothes didn't survive I'm afraid. I've organised some new ones, which should arrive in a day or two. I cleaned you up myself, as my all-male family were asleep when I got you home last night. You've got two broken ankles, your right forearm is broken near the elbow, most of your ribs are cracked, and you have several strained tendons. You wouldn't have wanted to be awake when I patched you up. Um...I'm Donatello, or Donnie if you'd prefer..." Donnie rambled quickly, feeling nervous about his clearly female patient, and the fact that she had yet to address the elephant in the room.

"So how did you mutate? I was a late-term abortion that survived, after my mother's friend threatened the clinic staff with violence, when they tried to put the lid on my abortion bucket. My mother then signed custody of me over to some dodgy Lab where they used me for pharmaceutical testing etc, until that same family friend rescued me. I might look human, but they had to amputate some extra limbs I grew when I was a baby at the lab, to make me appear human." Gale said quietly.

"What limbs?" A curious Donnie couldn't help asking, "My family were test subjects in a biological weapon experiment. We had to stop the same mad scientists about five years ago, after they tried to bring the city to its knees again."

"Nutjobs in whitecoats exist the world over, unfortunately. So were you human or a turtle before the whitecoats got you? The nutters had actually managed to mix my DNA with the extinct New Zealand Haast's Eagle ' _Harpagornis moorei'_. It gave me massive feathered wings with similar colouring to a New Zealand Swamp Harrier ' _Circus approximans_ ', but it didn't change the weight of my bone structure enough for them to believe that it would enable me to fly, so they amputated my wings and all the extra muscles I needed to use them. I still suffer with wicked phantom back pain, even after more than forty years." Gale's eyes shone with unshed tears as she recounted her pain-filled past.

"My brother's and I were Red-eared Sliders, our father was a Rat. We were rescued from the lab by our _Hogoshā_ , a scientist's little girl who used to feed us in the lab sometimes after school." Donnie smiled at the thought of his first memories of April O'Neil.

"I've always struggled with balancing my humanity with my bird instincts. My human younger half-siblings were born to my birth mother _after_ my guardian disappeared, so they have no memory of what my life was like before. My family won't talk about it, actually most of them steadfastly refuse to remember it, though now-a-days most of those that knew much about my early years have died of old age or ill-health." Gale tried unsuccessfully to stretch, wincing in pain.

Donnie took the sight in, and quickly excused himself, before returning to the kitchen and making her some cookies'n'creme pop tarts, and pouring her a glass of water to take with some painkillers.

He returned to his bedroom, bringing a couple of fresh cups of coffee on a tray, along with both their breakfasts.

"I didn't know how you took your coffee, so I brought some milk, creamer, sugar etc so you could tell me." Donnie smiled as he gently placed the tray next to the bed, awaiting instructions on how to prepare her coffee.

"Either strong, with soymilk and two sugars, or weak black with three sugars. I'm mildly dairy intolerant, so the less dairy in my diet the better. I can have milk products if there's nothing else, but I get wicked cramps, so I try to avoid it if possible." Gale replied, eyeing the coffee longingly.

Donnie promptly swapped his unlicked strawberry pop tarts for the cookies'n'creme pop tarts he had made her, before quickly making up a weak black coffee with three sugars. "Gale, I'll pick up some soymilk later, and I'll let our resident cook know too."

"You might want to tell them about my marine allergy as well then. I can't have any fish, shellfish, or even seaweed. I think the punks last night might have stolen my adrenaline and syringes. I know they definitely took the other medications I had in my bags. I left a new pscript with a local pharmacy, so I can replace most of it, I'll just have to be extra careful until then not to set off my allergies." Gale advised Donnie, looking at the poptarts hopefully.

"Don't worry about the strawberry poptarts, they should be fairly safe. My brother Raph has a mild marine allergy, and I know he eats those, or at least he used to. I'll make sure Mikey gets the message. It would probably be better if you stay in this room until we can get your medication. Let me know where to pick it up from and I'll make sure you get it." Donnie said as he took a grateful pull on his own sweet black coffee.

They ate chatting amiably, and Gale took the offered painkillers gratefully. She gave him the details of where to pick up her medications, and wrote and signed a little note for the pharmacy.

Donnie helped her settle back down in the nest for a rest, while he cleaned up their dishes and put on water for Sensei and Leo's early morning tea.

000

* * *

 **A/N:** I decided to break the chapter here. Next chapter is the rest of the family's reaction to their newest guest.


	4. The Guest

**Disclaimers:** For story disclaimer's, warnings etc, please see chapter one.

 **A/N:** _Italics_ indicate foreign words. Translations are provided at the bottom of the chapter.

000

* * *

 **April 2nd 2019**

Almost as soon as the kettle came to the boil, Leonardo silently padded into the kitchen.

"Morning Leo, everything for the tea is prepared and on the counter. You just need to pour the hot water." Donnie stated calmly as he watched his brother thoughtfully.

"Thanks Don, you're up early, or did you not get to bed yet?" Leo set about making the tea.

"I was up all night, but I'll tell you and Sensei about it once the tea is brewed." Donnie replied, indicating that he wanted to talk to both of them together before the others were up.

000

The brothers silently entered their Sensei's quarters, bowing deeply.

" _Ohayō, watashi no musuko,_ " Splinter greeted them warmly.

" _Ohayōgozaimasu sensei,_ " the brothers replied.

Leo quickly set the hot tea down in front of their father, before they all sat on the floor cushions with their father.

"Sensei, I ran into an incident last night, where I had to bring the victim of a crime back to the lair." Donnie began, giving his father a pleading look.

"What! You brought a complete stranger here? Have you lost your mind Donatello? What if she's Foot Clan bait? How could you be so stupid!" Leo began to reprimand his younger brother in front of their father.

" _Shizukani!_ " Master Splinter commanded Leonardo sharply.

" _Hai Sensei_ " Leonardo bowed his head once more.

"Continue please Donatello. You would not endanger this clan lightly, so there must be some reason." Master Splinter prompted Donatello gently to continue.

"Well I'm not sure where to start, but here goes. I was doing my patrol in Brooklyn when I heard Gale and her sister Mahuika having a massive argument over the lack of discipline displayed by Mahuika's son Henare. Mahuika screammed at her sister for a while, then she dragged the remaining three children from their Aunt Gale, who had been taking care of them. Mahuika disowned her sister and threw her sister's things out on the sidewalk. Gale told her she forgave her, and went into a nearby alley to find a cardboard box to sleep for the night. I left then to resume my patrol, as there didn't seem a need to intervene." Donnie stated carefully.

"What happened then my son?" Master Splinter prompted again.

"I came back after I'd sucessfully stopped some other crimes in the area, to find her surrounded by gang members. She fought off the first five quite well, but I decided to intervene with the last four as they were overwhelming her. She collapsed just as she finished the last thug off." Donnie's eyes glistened fondly, as he remembered last nights epic beat down.

"Why didn't you take her to a hospital?" Leo asked, mindful to keep his tone quiet.

"She's a foreigner who's just lost everything. I didn't think she's still have travel insurance after her sister disowned her. Usually groups get cover for the entire group. If she's not part of the group, she's not covered. Besides, I found out once she regained consiousness that she's a mutant, an eagle/human hybrid. Taking her to the hospital when she's lost the protection of her family would just result in her ending up on a disection table somewhere. I've done a thorough background check on her. She's who and what she says she is." Donnie said. "She's a woman who recently gave up her own financial security, and literally everything she owned to pay for her ungrateful half-sister to take a shot at a stupid canoe race in the hopes of becoming an Olympian. Even though Gale paid for everything, that little screeching ingrate did the bookings, and Mahuika has cancelled Gale's return flight, her travel insurance, and her hotel booking. All because Gale wouldn't let Mahuika's insufferable brat destroy the inside of a toyshop!"

"You sound quite affected by this woman Donatello," Master Splinter mused, "Why?"

"The research I did. It showed that Gale had raised her three younger siblings, much the way you raised us, by scavenging for food, clothes and other necessities. Gale also spent years raising other children in her ' _Whanau'_ , which basically means 'Clan' or extended family in her native language. She spent more years looking after the _Whanau_ 's elders, so her siblings and cousins didn't have to, and they could lead 'normal' lives. Now her sister has the nerve to disown her because she's no longer useful, as Mahuika has used her up completely, destroying her health in the process. Sensei, Leo, it just makes me so mad that someone could be that selfish and heartless. I mentioned before that Gale actually told her sister that she forgave her and that she still loved her and her family, even that brat, but that wretched harpy just slammed the door in her face."

"It is a sad tale. Tell me Donatello, did she suffer any injuries as a result of last night's battle with the gang members?" Master splinter stroked his beard as he asked his son.

"Yes Sensei, two broken legs, a broken arm, multiple torn and strained tendons, muscles and ligaments, massive bruising, and cracked ribs. She needs somewhere to recover, somewhere safe from humans. I don't know if her crazy sister would sell her out to the labs or not." Donnie commented.

"Very well, make sure she is comfortable. Please advise the others of our new guest. I am intrigued by her story, and I will visit later to speak with her myself." Master Splinter dismissed them.

Both turtles bowed to their father then left quietly.

000

When they got back to the kitchen/dining area, Mikey and Raph were already there stumbling around sleepily, trying to get some breakfast into themselves before training.

"Guys, we have a new guest staying here, she's a mutant like us that was injured last night. She will be staying here until her injuries heal." Leo said with a no-nonsense tone.

"What, where did she come from? Can we keep her? Is she hot?" Mikey asked, suddenly more awake at the thought of meeting someone new, particularly someone female.

"To answer the first question Mikey, her name's Gale Hunter, and she's from New Zealand..." Donnie managed to get out before Leo interupted him.

"To answer the second question, No!" Leo groused, irritated.

"And to answer the third question," Donnie added quickly sensing the building tension in the air, "She's forty-two, 280 lbs, and currently is wrapped in plaster and bandages from having the stuffing kicked out of her last night by the NewTurks. She's a lovely person, but I doubt Mikey, you would find her 'hot'."

"So are we a hotel for injured mutants now?" Raph finally spoke up.

"No, but we are probably the only hospital facility that would treat her, without trying to disect her afterwards." Donnie replied. "Look guys, she's asleep right now, and probably will be till at least after training. You're not to go into my bedroom for any reason. I've put her there since she will be here for many weeks. I'll be sleeping in the lab at night if anyone needs me."

The brothers sniggered at the last bit, then finished their breakfast and got ready for training, gleaning what they could from Donatello about their new guest. Donnie did make sure that everyone knew about her allergies and intolerances, making Mikey and Leo groan in dismay, but surprisingly making Raph grin at the thoughts an obvious crimp on Leo's usual fishy-flavoured dietry habits.

000

* * *

 **A/N:** Leo's feeling a bit put out, I hope he's not too rough on Donnie at training.

Most translations are done using Google translate app. I don't speak Japanese myself, so I apologise in advance if the translations are a bit weak or wrong.

 **Japanese Translations**

" _Ohayō, watashi no musuko._ " means "Good Morning, my sons."

" _Ohayōgozaimasu sensei._ " means "Good Morning Teacher."

" _Shizukani!_ " means "Be silent!"

" _Hai Sensei_ " means "Yes Teacher"


	5. First Impressions

**Disclaimers:** For story disclaimer's, warnings etc, please see chapter one.

 **A/N:** _Italics_ indicate foreign words. Translations are provided at the bottom of the chapter. * _Italics_ * indicate a flashback.

000

* * *

 _ ***Flashback (April 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **1987)***_

 _Mahuika and Maui are playing tag on the side of a rubbish-strewn street as the four children and their mother wait for the bus._

 _The bus soon arrives and the children all find positions around the bus, none of them sitting next to their mother. The heavyset and muscular Maori woman ignores them for the duration of the trip. They change buses in town, before a long walk to the famous Parnell Pools._

 _Once they arrive at the pools, she gives Gale five dollars, and tells her to make sure no one drowns, before she heads off to the Ellerslie racecourse for a day at the races._

 _Gale knows that out of the five dollars they need two dollars to catch the returning buses home, whether or not their mother remembers to collect them. That leaves three dollars to feed all four of them for the day, possibly for the rest of the week if their mother wins anything at the races._

 _Hemi promptly abandons Gale for the rest of the day, he loves to swim, and has a great day making random friends, showing off his swimming and diving skills._

 _Gale is left to keep an eye on Maui and Mahu for the rest of the day. Maui is more confident of his swimming ability than able, making the seven-year-old a tragedy waiting to happen. His little sister Mahu is a duck, but at six-years-old Gale still feels she needs to keep a close eye on her. Ironically Gale's own swimming ability is limited, as she's mildly hydrophobic, making the pools the worst possible place to spend the day in her opinion._

 _At lunch, after the nagging of Maui, Gale decides to get a one-dollar package of chips for everyone's lunch. It's a real treat for the younger children, but for Gale it's an expensive treat, when she's not sure where their next few meals are going to come from. She carefully shares out the package so that each child gets an equal portion, before eating a couple of chips herself. She saves the rest of her portion, as she knows that Mahu and Maui will be whining for food by the end of a day at the pools, and she wants to have something to shut them up with until they get home so they don't set their mother into one of her rages._

 _000_

 _As predicted, the pools close and there is no sign of their mother. After waiting the pre-requisite hour, Gale gathers up the tired children, and they trek back home. They have to dodge a creepy handsy drunk in the city when they change buses, but otherwise they get home just after dark._

 _There's no sign of their mother, so Gale gives them what's left of her portion of the chips for dinner. She makes them take showers and puts them to bed, before tackling the housework. She's learnt that if the house isn't spotless when her mother finally comes home, she will get a severe beating. They live in a two-bedroom flat, with the boys having one room and the girls having the other smaller room. They mother sleeps in the living room, when she's home at all._

 _Once the house looks as clean as Gale knows how to make it, she takes an inventory of what food supplies are still in the house. A packet of fish fingers that Gale can't eat, a huge sack of flour, half a tray of eggs, two pint-bottles of milk, two packets of cornflakes, a quarter of a tub of margarine, and finally a half-used box of cocoa. There's no bread, so while it's quiet, Gale makes up some flat breads, carefully dry frying each one until she has enough to feed them the next day. She knows that Maui will try to eat all the cornflakes if he knows they are there, so she hides one packet in the top of the hot water cupboard for emergencies, hidden carefully behind the bed sheets and towels. She also hides the remaining money, as she will need it to by more milk later if her mother doesn't return._

 _000_

 _Their mother doesn't return the next day, but since its Sunday, Gale tidies the children up and they go to the local Baptist church. The children have fun at Sunday school, and fortunately, for Gale there is a big morning tea after the service. The children happily fill up on the treats, while Gale and Hemi discretely palm various treats for later. At times like this, Hemi acts at Gale's right-hand man. He knows better than the younger two that they may not see their mother for days, and once the food at home runs out, they will have to scavenge or make a call to their hellish social worker, the results of that are usually incredibly unpleasant._

 _The elder two children manage to get a good haul, and Mahu finds a twenty-dollar note on the street. There's a massive tantrum when Gale takes it off her, but with no mother for the foreseeable future, every cent counts. Gale does relent and buys a twenty cent bag of sweets, which silences Mahu, and puts bright smiles on the boys. It also leaves enough sweets to bribe Mahu and Maui for the rest of the week if she stretches it out. Hemi just grins at her._

 _They spend the afternoon scouting the neighbourhood's fruit trees and then head to the local playground to think about what groceries they will need and how to stretch Mahu's windfall as far as possible. Maui manages to find ten cents, and smugly hands it over to Gale, making Mahu poke her tongue out in displeasure at him._

 _Once they get home, Gale inspects what they got from the church, and makes up their lunches for Monday. They eat what's left for dinner. It always makes Gale feel good when they all have lunches to take to school. It doesn't happen nearly as often as she would like really._

 _She and Hemi work with the younger ones to make sure all their homework is done, while getting all the washing done for the week and pressing all their clothes for school. They may be dirt poor, but they were normally clean when they walked out the door for school. Maui sometimes didn't arrive at school that way, but there was only so much a ten-year-old and an eight-year-old could do about him._

 _000_

 _In the end, their mother stayed away for fifteen days. Even though twenty dollars was a lot of money, more flour had used up five dollars all by itself. Maui had a school trip, which required Hemi to forge their mother's signature, and that used up another five dollars. Mahu getting sick in the second week had used up the last six dollars, which meant that they had lived on just nine dollars (including the flour) for the whole fortnight._

 _The doctor had been furious that Gale had brought Mahuika, and not their mother. He had ranted for at least ten minutes on parental neglect and school truancy. Gale had to dip into the last of her personal hidden change stash on order to get Mahu her prescription, but she would never take unnecessary risks where her baby sister's health was concerned._

000

 **April 2nd 2019**

Training began with the usual ten laps of the _Dōjō_ in absolute silence, followed by twenty intense minutes of _Junan Taiso_ to get everyone's blood pumping _,_ and fight off and last vestiges of sleep. The usual basic thirteen _Sanshin no Kata_ followed, with a very tired Donatello only just managing to keep up with his brothers, as they went through each form.

Master Splinter made everyone do a refresher on their _Ukemi_ and _Kihon Happo_ next. He ordered Donatello to work with Michelangelo, as it was quite clear that Leonardo was in a bad mood this morning over their surprise guest.

Raphael took great delight in testing Leonardo's breakfalls and blocks, by happily knocking him down in every different way he knew. Master Splinter actually praised him for once, which put Leo in an even fouler mood.

Disgruntled with Leonardo's attitude, Master Splinter decided that Leonardo needed several rounds of _Randori,_ to work through his apparent frustrations. He'd done this to Raphael on a number of occasions, and it always seemed to help reduce the amount of sibling fights afterwards.

As the _Randori_ match went from round-to-round, it sped up. Master Splinter had made them all use _Shobo_ , and focus on pressure points, rather than their usual weapons. It was Donnie that got the hit that downed Leo in the end, which was a rarity in itself, as the others usually regarded the calm scientist as the weakest ninja in the clan. The glare Leo gave his little brother would have frozen hell over when he lost.

Leonardo was so shocked at losing his match he stormed out in a huff, once he regained the use of his legs. His stunned siblings looked at their Sensei, before he ordered them to continue the next round of _Randori_. Once everyone else had had a turn, they did some _Henka_ and some more _Junan Taiso_ to warm down and stretch, before settling in for the customary meditation session.

After meditation, Master Splinter gave his students a pop-quiz on the three main books of Ninjutsu.

"What are the three main books of modern ninjutsu?" Master Splinter pointedly asked Mikey, who appeared to be daydreaming.

"Wha? Oh...um...The Bansenshukai...um...The Ninpiden...um...and...um...The Shoninki!" Mikey seemed pleased he got all of them.

"Correct Michelangelo," Splinter sighed, as he turned his attention to Raphael. "What are the four elements of Nin?"

"Covert activity, information gathering, disguise, and surveillance Masta Splinta" Raphael rattled off smugly.

"Very good Raphael," Splinter praised his usually temperamental son. "Donatello, what is the essence of Nin?"

"The essence of _N_ _in_ is the correct heart and mind Sensei." Donatello happily chirped.

"Excellent Donatello," Splinter smiled at his remaining students contently.

"Michelangelo, what are the five matters of a person's heart?" Splinter asked.

Counting on his three fingers and two toes, Mikey answered, "Wisdom, virtue, sincerity, valour, and austerity."

Splinter chuckled inwardly at Mikey's need to use such a simple mnemonic. "Yes Michelangelo, they can also be described as: Wisdom, benevolence, trust, courage, and strictness."

He continued on for another hour, testing each of his remaining sons on the core principles of ninjutsu, increasing the difficulty of the questions with each round.

While Donatello clearly held the most book knowledge, Raphael's impressive memory skills enabled him to complete comfortably on questions that required mere rote learning.

When asked to elaborate on the answers he gave, Raphael was able to work out most of the answers, but as always, Raphael still struggled with the five matters of a person's heart, particularly trust and strictness.

Michelangelo found his inherent laziness caused him to fall behind in places, but his complete understanding of the facts 'he did know', meant that he was able to reason out some of the answers from the answers of previous questions.

000

Once Master Splinter released them, Mikey was banished to re-discover his ninjutsu textbooks, with the threat of no video games until he could re-sit the test.

Raph had offered to take Gale's note to April for the pharmacy, and pick up the special groceries their new guest requisite to her wellbeing.

Donnie quickly checked on a sleeping Gale, before grabbing a long hot shower.

000

Gale slept the rest of the morning, waking only when a very loud and obnoxious Mikey, bounded into Donnie's lab to tell him that lunch was ready.

"Dude! Lunch is served," boomed Mikey, as he bounded energetically over the various obstacles of Donnie's lab.

"Which bit of quiet did you not understand Mikey! Gale was sleeping!" Donnie hissed at his overenthusiastic little brother.

Mikey put his head around the corner into Donnie's bedroom, to check out the new visitor. "Hey old dudette, we're having lunch, do you want any?"

"Thank you, did Donnie tell you about my allergies?" Gale asked, self-consciously adjusting Donnie's borrowed hoodie to cover more of herself.

"Yeah, we're having ramen and vegetables. I checked everything, it's safe for yah." Mikey said dismissively, before exiting out Donatello's other bedroom door.

Donnie walked in to the bedroom after his brother, and locked the other bedroom door behind Mikey, "Sorry about Mikey, I'll bring you lunch. Did you want a soda with lunch?"

"Sure, anything but that horrible orange crush stuff." Gale said rolling her eyes.

Donnie chuckled at that, "Mikey lives on that stuff, I'll grab you a coke if that's ok."

"Yes please! My nephew Henare drank that stuff and it made him completely hyper. That's what caused yesterday's drama's actually. One already hyper child, high on orange crush." Gale spoke with a bittersweet smile.

000

Donnie once again ate his meal with Gale. She happily regaled him with stories of her childhood in New Zealand's slums.

After lunch, Gale and Donnie talked about engineering. Gale had wanted to become an engineer when she was young, but the need to provide for her relatives meant that she had taken a shorter, simpler course, enabling her to join the workforce as early as possible.

She was fairly knowledgeable about engineering for an amateur, and clearly interested in the subject, as Donatello gave her in-depth descriptions of his latest projects that he had been working on recently. Gale was able to give him some great ideas for new inventions, and proved an adept problem solver, giving him some interesting solutions to some of the impediments he had been facing with some of his work.

Too soon for Donnie, Gale felt exhausted and went back to sleep for the rest of the afternoon.

000

* * *

 **A/N:** Master Splinter is often portrayed as a complete arse, so I decided to make him a little less paranoid, and considerably wiser than he's usually portrayed. He knows Leo well enough to know that Leo wants to smack the daylights out of Donnie, so he's keeping Donnie out his older brother's way, at least until Donnie's had a chance to get some rest. Needless to say Leo's getting frustrated.

The answers to the pop quiz are taken from the actual ninjutsu books in case you are wondering. I've done quite a bit of research. Feel free to pop me a pm, or check out my forum 'Ninjutsu Resource' here on this site. I've been doing quite a bit of ninjutsu reading in an effort to get my head around Master Splinter's mindset.

*In New Zealand, 'chips' are the name given to 'fries'. They are usually crinkle-cut or steak-cut fries, rather than french-fries.

000

 **Ninjutsu Terms**

"Dōjō" is the training hall used to teach martial arts.

" _Junan Taiso"_ is the Ninja art of Stretching and Body Conditioning. It's sometimes called 'the yoga of ninjutsu' as it increases flexibility etc. It does have an aerobic element though, which makes it a great warm up for other ninjutsu training.

" _Sanshin no Kata"_ is the basic thirteen technique kata of ninjutsu.

" _Ukemi"_ is the Ninja art of breakfalls

" _Kihon Happo"_ is the Ninja art of Blocks (i.e. defence)

" _Randori"_ is a freestyle sparring game where one ninja stands in the middle as the rest take turns at attacking him/her. At advanced levels there are multiple attackers making hits from every direction.

" _Shiken Gata"_ is 'Real Hits' sparring, designed to get a ninja used to receiving (or preferably dodging) real blows.

" _Shobo_ " are a weapon that is used to strike pressure points. Its small and easily concealed.

000

Most translations are done using Google translate app. I don't speak Japanese myself, so I apologise in advance if the translations are a bit weak or wrong.

My natural language is New Zealand English, but I'm trying to use Americanism's when characters are speaking from New York where I can (and any help from real New Yorker's would be appreciated). For the New Zealand flashbacks, I'll use New Zealand terminology, so you may see some odd terms, just roll with it!

 **Japanese Translations**

" _Ohayō, watashi no musuko._ " means "Good Morning, my sons."

" _Ohayōgozaimasu sensei._ " means "Good Morning Teacher."

" _Shizukani!_ " means "Be silent!"

" _Hai Sensei_ " means "Yes Teacher"


	6. 1st Mate Leo of the Lucky Green Turtle

**Disclaimers:** For story disclaimer's, warnings etc, please see chapter one.

 **A/N:** _Italics_ indicate foreign words. Translations are provided at the bottom of the chapter. * _Italics_ * indicate a flashback.

000

* * *

 **April 2nd 2019**

"Hi guys! I brought Pizza!" April chirped, as she handed the pizzas off to Michelangelo.

"Angelcakes! I love you!" Mikey dramatically swooned, as April laughed at him.

While the others quickly tucked into their dinner, Donnie took the medications from April, along with the necessary supplies for Gale.

000

"Are you awake?" Donnie whispered, checking on his nest.

"Mostly," Gale replied. "Is that my medications?"

"Yes," Donnie placed the bag of medications down beside her.

"Please thank whoever got them." Gale said, trying to empty out the bag onto the bed.

"It looks like enough medications to completely stock a pharmacy" Donnie joked.

"It's a three month supply." Gale mentioned as she found the drugs she wanted.

April had provided Gale with a chicken salad, which she ate while watching Donnie eat an entire pepperoni pizza by himself. They continued their discussion of inventions and engineering until Master Splinter came in with a jelly and fruit dessert.

"Good evening Miss Hunter. I hope you are feeling a little better this evening." Master Splinter graciously handed her the dessert.

"Thank you, yes I'm feeling less like a truck has backed over me now I have my medication." Gale replied with a self-depreciating smile.

Donnie quietly took the used plates and utensils, while Master Splinter and Gale traded origin stories. Once Master Splinter had finished his visit, April came to meet their newest mutant.

"I've brought the first lot of stuff Donnie ordered," April said, as she hauled in the bag she had brought with her.

"Thanks, and thanks for getting my pills too!" Gale replied gratefully.

"It was no problem. I hear you splattered some NewTurks last night." April prompted

"They were thugs, and they were attacking me. I simply defended myself from them. Their leader will probably need dentures after last night, but most of the others will recover just fine. They hurt me far worse than I hurt them. Though Donnie took on a couple of them, so I don't know how his opponents fared." Gale told her.

"Hey I'm covering the outrigger race tomorrow, would you like to come? Donnie mentioned you paid for your sister to compete. It seems pretty mean to not let you see the final race." April suddenly burst out.

"I'd love to, but I'm not sure if there's a practical way for me to be there." Gale looked at her plastered legs in dismay.

"I was planning to let the guys and Master Splinter come out as well. That's why I chartered a boat for the day. The boat is enclosed, so you won't have to worry about getting wet, or the guys being seen." April eagerly told her.

"If it can be made to happen, then I'm definitely keen. I haven't seen any of the heats, as I had to mind Mahuika's children, so I'd love to finally see a race in real time." Gale smiled at the young reporter.

000

April gathered Gale's remaining dishes, and hummed happily, as she left to convince the others of her plan.

Fortunately, by this time, Leo had come back from his sulk, and they were soon able to work out the logistics for a day on the harbour.

000

While Gale had an early night, the others decided to check out the area of the race and set up surveillance over the area they would be the next day. They placed camera's everywhere they could, including on other media boats that would be covering the race.

Donnie set up background checks on all the teams and anyone else likely to be on the water watching the race. There was nothing particularly interesting about the teams themselves, but some of the sponsors were of passing interest.

000

Donnie checked on Gale again when he got in, but she was still asleep. He took his shower, then headed back to his med cot to sleep. He only managed around three hours, but it was enough to have him wide-awake.

Donnie set up everything he would need for a day on the charter boat. He'd already checked the type of boat, and made sure that he would have everything ready for 3:00 am when they were due to eave.

000

 **April 3** **rd** **2019**

Breakfast went without a hitch, with training skipped this morning due to the outing. Donnie changed Gale's dressings, before drugging her up to the eyeballs with painkillers so he could move her comfortably.

When they got to the boat, Vern was happily checking everything over. He waved at them, and beckoned them aboard.

"Welcome aboard the 'Lucky Green Turtle', I am your Captain for the day. Please observe the safety directions on the wall." Vern theatrically told them, waving at a safety notice on the wall.

"Yeah, whateva," a very sleepy Raph mumbled, making himself comfortable on a sofa and promptly going back to sleep.

Vern grinned at Leo, who he had commandeered to help him with the boat. Mikey found another sofa and joined Raph in the land of nod, leaving Master Splinter and Donnie to settle Gale in a position where she could see outside, but was still comfortable. Once she was settled, Donnie set up his surveillance equipment and Vern's production equipment. Master Splinter found the galley and went about making his morning cup of tea.

000

"Ok Leo, while I'm filming the race, you will be in charge of following the boats. We need to keep out of the way of the canoes, but I'll need a clear sight of the leading canoes at all times. These events can turn into demolition derbies in the media pack, so I'm counting on your ninja reflexes to keep everyone safe. If there's a situation you can't handle call me, but otherwise, once I start filming the live action, it will be all over to you first mate Leonardo!" Vern smirked at Leo, as he beamed with happiness.

"I'll do my best. I've played around at night with a little runabout that Donnie built, so I think it should be fine. Donnie will be keeping an eye on the action, and last night he set up some surveillance on the other watercraft following the race, as well as in some other fixed locations. We scouted the area last thoroughly, and I've read up on the tides and currents for the day." Leo replied to Vern, making sure that he knew what every control did. Vern looked relaxed, and patted the larger terrapin on the shoulder before checking on Donnie and the production unit.

Vern took a look at Donnie's set up and adjusted some of the cameras. Donnie let him, as he acknowledged Vern's area of expertise. "Looks like we're ready to leave guys. Leo, get us underway. I'll cast us off. Everyone else please sit down somewhere until you're comfortable with the boat's motion."

Everyone followed Vern's instructions as they headed for the first part of the course to film the start of the race.

000

It was three hours before other boats began to show up for the 7:00am start to the race. Gale kept an eye out for her sister's canoe, while sipping on ginger ale.

Typically, she hating being on the water, but the chance to see her little sister race meant swallowing her irrational fears and puting up with any seasickness.

000

* * *

 **A/N:** Leo's insanely excited about being allowed to pilot the charter boat. Even though no mutants will be able to be on deck, it's still a rare occasion where they can be active during the day, and be a part of a human event. Of course, Leo's just wants to make the boat go places. His big kid moment!

000

Most translations are done using Google translate app. I don't speak Japanese myself, so I apologise in advance if the translations are a bit weak or wrong.


	7. The race is on!

**Disclaimers:** For story disclaimer's, warnings etc, please see chapter one. I have no idea if there is a real channel 19 in New York, I made them up, and so this channel 19 is ficticious.

000

* * *

 **April 3rd 2019**

Near Tribeca's Pier-26, the forty finalists' in their 45-foot canoes, lined up at the start line, as _The Lucky Green Turtle_ jockeyed into position within the surging media pack. Gale could see her little sister sweating through the binoculars Donatello had helpfully provided for her. Mahuika's other five team mates were calm and focused, but Gale could see the tension in her sister's body, even at this distance.

"Hey Gale, did you find you sister in the pack yet?" Donnie asked, as he continued to monitor the live feeds on the screens.

"Yes, she's and she's really tense. I can see her grinding her teeth. I hope she remembered her mouth guard, or she'll have a bleeding mouth by the end of the race." Gale replied, as she kept her sister's canoe in sight.

"She's fortunate to have such a caring sister. I still can't get my head around how she could throw you away like that," Donnie spoke.

"Mahu just chooses not to see things that upset her. I upset her, so she now chooses not to see me. I know its juvenile of her, but it's how she copes with the world. I wish I could have been a better sister to her, then, maybe she would have been able to cope with reality better." Gale hung her head in shame as she spoke quietly.

Donnie stared at her for a moment in disbelief, before pushing his glasses back up his snout, and going back to his monitoring.

000

The blast of the starter's gun caused the sea to churn wildly, as the canoes took off as fast as their crews could push them.

Raph and Mikey almost hit the ceiling as the blast suddenly woke them. The panicked as they tried to ascertain who was attacking them.

"Whoa dudes!" Mikey looked around fearfully, until he realised where he was.

"f***!" Raph swore, as looked for the source of the noise.

Donnie and Splinter grinned at them as the boys quickly realised what was actually going on.

"Good morning again my sons, perhaps you would like to pack away your bedding and begin the day?" Master Splinter said, trying not to laugh.

Sheepishly they packed up their sleeping gear, and settled in to watch the race.

000

"Dude, look at the babes in those canoes!" Mikey bounced around the cabin from window to window in excitement.

"Michelangelo! I have taught you better than that!" Master Splinter admonished.

"Sorry Sensei, but they're all so hot!" Mikey replied, awestruck by the muscular women on the water.

"They're not gonna want freaks like us Mikey, so why bother?" Raph grumbled, as he fished a toothpick out from his pocket.

"Dude!" Mikey replied, giving Raph a longsuffering look. "You'll never meet the ladies in your magazines, but you still have a whole collection of them!"

Donnie sniggered quietly behind his monitors, as Raph tried to chase Mikey around the cramped cabin.

When he passed Master Splinter however, he recieved a crack over the back of the head from the elderly rat's jo-staff. "Raphael! Stop chasing your brother. When we return home you will destroy these 'Magazines', and you will spend the rest of the evening in the Ha'shi!"

"Hai Sensei." Raph glared at his youngest brother in impotent fury.

000

On the deck, April was standing with her back to the action as she gave her first report of the day.

 _"This is April O'Neil reporting for Channel Six News. We are near pier 26, at the start of the_ _ **Hawaiian Airlines Liberty Challenge 2019,**_ _which is one of the most unique outrigger races in the world. It takes traditional ocean-faring canoes designed for speed, distance and surfing and places them inside New York, one of the world's busiest urban harbours. These crews face a variety of challenges, which can only be found here in our beloved New York City."_

April kept her calm and professional manner, as Leo manoeuvred the boat through the media pack deftly. Vern panned the camera to take in the starting, with extra focus on both the local teams, and on the New Zealand team, that Mahuika was part of.

Once Vern called cut however, April promptly ran to the edge of the boat and heaved over the side.

"Haven't got your sealegs yet?" Vern smiled as he ran some checks over his equipment, talking to Donnie over the comms, while watching the seasick reporter try to fix her face for the next report.

"No, I'm afraid I haven't." April replied as she added the final re-touches to her makeup.

Vern tossed her a bottle of gingerbeer from his bag, "Drink that, it'll settle your stomach in no time."

"Thanks Vern" April tipped the bottle back expertly, without disturbing her lipstick, before straightening herself up for the next segment.

000

"Miss Hunter, would you like a cup of tea?" Master Splinter asked politely.

"Thank you, weak black tea, with two sugars please." Gale, watched with interest as the agile rat went about making tea in the boat's galley kitchen.

Once he returned with the two steaming cups, the two of them conversed quietly, sipping their tea while they watched the action on the water.

000

Meanwhile, Raph and Mikey set up a sweepstakes for deciding the winner of the race. Every member of the crew chose a boat to support. Gale chose her sister's canoe of course, while the others chose various other canoes from the USA teams.

The field was soon reduced to thirty-four boats, after a six-canoe pile-up at The Battery. Thankfully, the New Zealand team was clear of the crush, but four of the nine US canoes capsized in the crush.

"No, no, no, no!" Mikey cried as his chosen champions were sunk.

"Shoulda picked a better team Mikey," Raph smirked as his own team powered past the mess.

000

April kept up her lively commentary, having done her homework on each of the teams competing. Coupled with the information that Donnie was feeding her over the comms, it ensured that Channel Six had the most comprehensive reporting of any of the TV Stations.

The hairpin turn at Manhattan Bridge caused another incident, after a water taxi and a sightseeing boat got too close to the canoes. Two more US teams and a Canadian team were disqualified in that incident.

Leo groaned over the comms, as he saw the team he had picked get disqualified. "They should have been more aware of their surroundings."

"Agreed," said Donnie over the comms, "Though that water taxi got far too close. It's carrying one of the competing media crews, Channel 19 I believe."

"I'll get April to add that fact to her next report," Vern cheerfully told them over the comms, before telling April, "Hey April, looks like the Channel 19 crew caused the accident at the hairpin turn."

"Thanks Vern, Melissa from channel 19 is an utter dog. I wonder what her boss will think when she finds out Melissa caused those boats to be disqualified." April smiled, as she got ready for her next segment.

Vern counted April in as he began rolling.

" _This is April O'Neil reporting for Channel Six News. I have just been informed that a water taxi hired by Channel 19 Newshub as a mobile news platform caused the disqualification of Team Canada and the teams from Hawaii and Alabama. Team Canada has already had to raise additional funds, after their boats were sabotaged in the weeks leading up to this race, so it is a particularly cruel blow to their hopes and dreams of qualifying for the olympics that an irresponsible member of the media has ruined their chances in this race."_ April told the camera.

After her segment, she received a call from Bern, praising her journalism. It was an open secret that Channel Six and Channel 19 were at war, so anything that undermined the enemy TV Station was praiseworthy in Bern's mind.

Immediately after that, she got a call from Melissa, who screeched down the phoneline for the best part of three minutes before April hung up on her.

Vern just grinned at her before they began their next segment.

000

The East river's naturally strong currents shipwrecked the Australian team coming back down the East river towards Governers Island.

The race was also delayed by ten minutes near Liberty Island, after several teams were disqualified for going within the 150 yd zone, and causing an incident with Homeland Security. The turtles were justifyably anxious as homeland security swept in on the offending boats. Leo's piloting skill however had allowed them to be well out of the way of the national security forces, while having excellent line of sight of all the activity.

000

The New Zealand team got a four-minute penalty after they were forced by another team into a pier head. Gale could see the stress in her sister's face as she vainly tried to battle the sea currents, while not accidently ramming the other boats as they tried to get away from the barnacle-encrusted pier head.

The race officials forced more delays, as the ferries crossed the racer's paths near Ellis Island. Of the remaining twenty-three canoes, a further four canoes were disqualified for interfering with the commercial traffic and disobeying the race officials.

The remaining nineteen canoes struggled up the Hudson River against the tide, at a barely noticeable two knots as they fought the wild currents and tide.

The constant dodging of commercial traffic added to the stress that could be clearly seen on each crewmembers face, as they battled the surf. Three more boats were disqualified, after they got to close to the pier heads, or got tangled in the commercial traffic. Now only sixteen crews battled for the prize.

The remaining crews battled through the constant washing machine like waves as they made their way up the Hudson River. It was exciting watching the canoes try to outsmart and outmanoeuvre the commercial watercraft, and the media, as they strove for first place.

Raphael and Michelangelo made bets regarding the likely winner, and shouted like lunatics as their new choice of canoe dipped and plunged through the waves. Master Splinter looked at the boats with interest, but preferred to study the crews of the surrounding boats instead.

Donatello's hands flew over the video equipment as he listened to the headphones he was wearing, and quietly muttered into the microphone giving Vern information regarding the action on the water.

Eventually Gale was able to get Raphael's attention long enough to get him to take Leonardo a sandwich and a cup of tea. However, Raph returned to the catcalling as soon as he returned. Master Splinter eventually decided to make lunch for the rest of the clan, dragging Mikey away to help him.

Gale could see her sister fighting the river with everything she had. Mahuika rarely had to fight for anything, as her older siblings had protected and sheltered her to the best of their ability throughout her childhood. To see Mahuika struggle, made Gale want to order the waters to calm for her sister.

000

Only twelve of the orginal canoes of the starting forty actually crossed the finish line. In the end, it was the New Zealand team that came in at first place.

They won by the slimmest of margins, due to the nearest canoe having a greater time penalty. Gale watched the monitors, as Mahuika thanked her coach and her husband and children for making her dream possible. She said nothing at all of Gale's extreme financial sacrifice, or of Gale's current homelessness and stranding.

Donatello glowered silently at Mahuika's speech with thinned lips and vowed to himself to bring down Mahuika a notch or two, once she had won her Olympic medal. He knew he couldn't do any permanent damage to her if he wanted Gale's co-operation in his plans, but he also had experience in dealing with family, and he knew just how to deal with uppity little siblings, so he would wait and plan.

000

After the race, everyone handed Gale their five dollars, as per the sweepstake rules agreed.

"You know, when I was a child, I often had to make five dollars feed us for a couple of weeks at a time," Gale mused as she tucked the small notes into her purse, "We relied on the local church, the local fruit trees and gardens, and other 'free' sources of food, but we managed."

"You were fortunate, here in New York City there are very few fruit trees or gardens. When my sons were young, I would visit the city markets to get the waste vegetables, and the local resturant dumpsters provided a considerable portion of our food as well. Our appearance made it difficult to actually buy food, so we scavanged what we could." Master Splinter told Gale, as his eyes looked out on the water.

"Yes, we weren't strangers to the art of what you American's call 'dumpster diving' either. Mahu was always too dainty to do it, so the boys did most of it. My brother's Hemi and Maui were experts at getting the cleanest, freshest food scraps from the local takeaways and bakeries." Gale replied, remembering the looks of triumph that her brothers would have when they brought something edible home for dinner.

"Things are easier now, we can order stuff online, and Donnie earns money making apps for smartphones, so we can afford to buy our food" Leo added, as he handed over his five dollars to Gale, before heading back to the cockpit of the boat.

"I studied computer programming, as it was a shorter course than the architecture and engineering degrees I wanted to take. The Y2K bug was a big issue when I was studying in 1995. It turned out to be a waste of time, as most of the faulty software was retired before the Y2K bug could come into effect." Gale told them, "In hindsight, I wish I had done the engineering course, then I would still have a marketable skill, rather than simply being an 'expert' at computer software that has long since been made obselete."

"All education is valuable Miss Hunter," Master Splinter told her, "Such skills can always be transferred to other matters."

"True, I suppose. I'm an academic at heart, and I would loved to have spent the years earning a masters degree in engineering and architecture. I could have found a position at one of the universities teaching then, while I invented useful things for people." Gale sighed thoughtfully.

"It's not too late to start your academic career now." Donnie said. "For one, you don't have any responsibilities to your family anymore, nobody will condem you here."

"Thanks, but I have nothing to my name except what I have on my person now. I don't even have a working visa, only the visitor's visa to be here for the race. I don't know if Mahu has had that cancelled yet. It would be like her to do so."

"Don't worry, I've already organised an extension of your visa to a four-year working visa." Donnie grinned, as he continued, "As far as the authorities are concerned you are my employee, helping me build smartphone apps. If you're happy with the arrangement, I've got somewhere you can stay once you're able to look after yourself, and I could get you enrolled in a Bachelor of Engineering via distance learning You're clearly competent, so I think you'll cope with the programming assignments I give you easily. So now you have a career, a place to live, and chance at reaching your own dreams."

"What's in it for you?" Gale studied Donnie as he blushed.

"Quite a bit actually. I get competent help with my smartphone apps, I get access to the universities resources (second-hand) while you're completing your degree, and I get someone who can be a real face for my business dreams." Donnie told her while he took his glasses off to clean the lenses.

"Sounds good. When do I start?" Gale replied, with a grateful smile.

"Once you have two working arms. However, I have plenty of reading for you in the mean time." Donnie told her.

"Depends on the quality of the books." Gale smiled at the younger turtle with amusement.

"Whateva rocks yer boat." Raph handed in his five dollars in a mixture of dollar bills and loose change.

000

The group made their way back to a pier where they could discretely disembark, before heading back to the lair. Raph was promptly banished to the ha'shi, while Master Splinter ordered Michelangelo to finish his own theory study for the rest of the evening. Leo had gone to Vern's for a debrief (and probably a couple of ultralite beers), leaving Donnie to keep Gale company.

* * *

 **A/N:** Any creative suggestions for ways Donnie could bring Mahu down a notch or two would be gratefully received. Just send me a pm. If you're reading this story for the second time you might notice that I've reloaded all the chapters. I didn't like how the original flowed so I've re-written it.

000


End file.
